Richard Allum, Amici’s director of marketing, told the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal the sales jump was “entirely due to the game,” after 12,881 fans turned out for the free San Francisco Bulls game hosted on the Sharks’ home ice to fill the void for local hockey fans.

Sharks spokesman Scott Emmert said most free tickets for the game were given out to Sharks and Bulls season ticket holders, but an additional 3,500 free tickets released to the public were “snapped up in about five minutes.”

Allum can pin Amici’s sales jump Monday to hockey with confidence, since restaurant sales have been hit hard so far due to the lockout.

“Last night was really indicative of the difference,” Allum said, alluding to the struggles downtown businesses have faced all fall since the lockout began in October.

Earlier this fall, Chris Shaffer, a partner at San Jose's Firehouse No. 1 bar and grill, told the Business Journal that the last NHL lockout during the 2004-2005 season cost his employer at the time, downtown's O'Flaherty's Irish Pub, about 30 percent of business for the entire year.

This time around, Allum said a season without hockey has seemed to contribute to less activity downtown in general.

“Perhaps the impact we didn’t foresee was the drop off in dine-in business on the days there wasn’t hockey,” Allum said, explaining that sales on non-hockey days are down about 15-20 percent this year. Moreover, Amici's a sponsor of the Sharks for the last six years, has lost out on all advertising and marketing opportunities at hockey games.

Still, Allum remains hopeful that the league will “salvage part of the season,” hopefully bringing back a big chunk of Amici’s business.